'There's probably a big one in America,' Biggles frowned, 'but we'd need to be able to move the money across to our side of the pond. Perhaps the genie could arrange for a few Euromillion rollovers to increase the jackpot for us?'

'Major Bigglesworth' said Von Stalhein coldly, 'there are times when I seriously wonder if you were created by the devil just to annoy me.'

"That might count as another wish," Algy pointed out."We need to know exactly what we do have.is it just you gets the wishes or all of us? In that case we could pool our resources and make sure every aspect is covered."

The Decision to Survive - A good pilot is both born and made. The best would look upon his work as a combination of adventure and a serious mission. – Major General Sir Frederick Sykes

As they discussed renewable sources of wealth, from a patent on a new discovery to access to a printing press, the genie , too, was busy. She was washing her hair and trying on diaphonous garments. The blue or the green, she wondered? Should she put her hair up or wear it down? If Algy asked her to dinner again, she'd say 'yes.'

'Major Bigglesworth' said Von Stalhein coldly, 'there are times when I seriously wonder if you were created by the devil just to annoy me.'

"We need to make sure we don't harm anybody else in our wishing," Algy said. "If - for example - Bertie wished for larger income from his estates, his tenants might suffer. If we asked for bigger salaries, Raymond would be hauled in front of Treasury to explain."

"For goodness sake stop that Yankee drawl, or you'll have us all doing it before you've finished.""OK baby - sorry - I mean, righto.""That's better."

Ginger was struck by a sudden idea. 'Why don't we wish to be happy?' he asked. 'Then we'd be rich and have nice cars and a whole collection of aeroplanes.'

'The genie might make you happy by turning you into a dribbling idiot without enough brains to dress yourself,' Biggles pointed out. 'Someone must have got round this wish problem. What did they do? Think of all the stories you've read from Arabian Nights and Scheherazade. Can you remember anyone who benefited from their wishes?'

'Major Bigglesworth' said Von Stalhein coldly, 'there are times when I seriously wonder if you were created by the devil just to annoy me.'

"I was trying to work out the optimum number of extra genies we would have to wish for to ensure a never ending supply of wishes. To cover all eventualities". he added sheepishly. "You know, in case a couple go... well, um... wrong".

"Spare my days! Who wants to be true to life? Why read about what you can see going on around you any day of the week?"